Headlines

In a survey of more than 2,000 American adults, 61 percent of renters said they don't plan to purchase a house at any point in the next three years, Freddie Mac said Monday. When asked why they expect to keep renting for the near future, half of respondents said they can't afford to make a down payment for a mortgage, while 38 percent said they can't afford a monthly mortgage payment.

By lowering the down payment down to 3 percent, leaders from the GSEs and the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) hope to increase homeownership and particularly household formation by offering loans to those who can afford mortgages but lack resources to make a 20 percent down payment plus closing costs.

Veteran mortgage sales professional Cheryll A. LeBlanc has joined Massachusetts-based Mortgage Network as district manager in the firm's Auburn, Massachusetts, office.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday it will leave loan limits unchanged for the highest- and lowest-cost housing markets in 2015. For most high-cost housing markets, the maximum allowable amount for an FHA loan will stay at $625,000, a threshold first set at the start of this year.

Among its five largest predictions for next year, Realtor.com expects first-time buyers will return to the market in full force after years of retrenchment that has dampened the recovery of the housing market. This push will be led by millennials, now settling into their families, careers, and 30s, who are eager to buy into the American dream.

United Wholesale Mortgage's Justin Glass is moving up in the company's ranks: The Michigan-based lender promoted the veteran employee to the newly created role of chief digital officer (CDO).

Nationwide, home sales fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the brokerage said in a recent report. Sales have been down year-over-year for every quarter so far in 2014. At the same time, sales of homes priced at at least $1 million continued to lift, rising 9 percent over the past year.

Accurate Group, a title and appraisal services firm with headquarters in Ohio, announced the launch of its new e-signature closing solution designed to help lenders streamline the loan closing process and improve the borrower experience.

In a study of borrower profiles and lender behaviors, Zillow found that self-employed loan applicants receive only six loan quotes for every 10 received by non-self-employed borrowers. That's even worse than in June 2011, when the ratio was seven for every 10.

Months after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) first unveiled a rule establishing eligibility requirements for private insurers, the agency informed some of the nation's top firms it doesn't plan to release a finalized rule until close to the end of Q1 2015 or later, according to an announcement from U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI).